Yes
by PolarDawn
Summary: Just a little something short. Read on, my friends. Ikari. Oneshot.


**So someone I know has been dying for a little Ikari...**

* * *

Dawn woke up, breathing hard. She had been dreaming something about an insane old lady who was kidnapping people. She didn't remember it making much sense at the time, and thinking back, it made even less.

She glanced at the clock, seeing that it was just after seven o'clock on Easter morning. Deciding she would ask Paul if he had any thoughts on her dream, she rolled over, beginning to speak.

"Paul, I," she began, stopping abruptly immediately after. Paul wasn't there. Groaning, Dawn sat up. He was probably in the bathroom. He didn't usually get up until eight, so he would likely be back in a matter of minutes, attempting to get another half hour of sleep.

Ten minutes later, when Paul still hadn't returned, Dawn started to get a little curious. She hadn't heard a peep from anywhere else in the apartment, which wouldn't make sense if someone was up and about. It was a fairly small place, so one could usually hear whatever else was going on, provided that the activity made noise.

"Paul!" Dawn called out, receiving no answer. This was strange. It was a Sunday, so he had no reason that she could remember to be out.

Getting out of bed, Dawn wrapped her robe around her petite frame. She walked through the apartment quickly, looking for any trace of her boyfriend.

Dating him for almost three years now, Dawn had become accustomed to, and subsequently accepted, many of Paul's weird quirks. One of these was that he would often leave without much prior notice, but would always leave a brief note detailing what he planned to do while out. Dawn enjoyed these notes, even if she would rather hear him tell her his plans face to face.

Since he was obviously out currently, Dawn expected to see a piece of paper taped to the door, like Paul would usually leave. There was nothing. Starting to get worried, Dawn padded back into their bedroom, deciding that since Paul wasn't there, she should get dressed before attempting to determine his whereabouts.

She showered quickly changed out of her nightwear, donning a simple blouse and jeans. When she opened the cabinet containing her hair straightener, she was surprised to see a small egg made out of pink plastic, nestled in beside the object she was looking for. Deciding to see what was inside the egg before she went any further with her appearance, Dawn opened it up. In it was a small piece of paper with three words typed on it.

"_Get your keys._"

Confused, Dawn walked out of the bathroom and into the entryway, going straight for the drawer where they always kept their keys. Sliding it open, she saw another egg, yellow this time. Cracking it open, a similar piece of paper was visible. Delicate fingers pulled the slip out, and blue eyes scanned it eagerly.

"_It's small, but not tiny. It moves, but not by itself. Get in it if you wish to see your boyfriend again._"

Inhaling sharply at the last sentence, Dawn grabbed her keys, put on her coat, and left the apartment hurriedly, hair straightening forgotten. She knew what the horrible attempt at a riddle was referring to. It was her car, a Mini Cooper, which was, at this very moment, parked in the garage below the building.

Three minutes later, Dawn reached the vehicle. She unlocked it, and slid into the driver's seat. Wasting no time, she opened the egg she found sitting on the dashboard, and read the note inside.

"_Just kidding, you'll probably see him again whether you follow the directions or not. It's more fun this way though, wouldn't you agree? Anyway, here's another riddle: You love it here. Everyone else hates it. When you arrive, you'll meet the leader of the system that skips 'E', and he will and take you to court. You'll know him when you see him._"

Reading it again, Dawn had to sit and think. What place did she enjoy that everyone else hated? And the leader of the system that skipped 'E'? What on earth was that?

Suddenly, out of nowhere, she remembered one time in her senior year of college. She was sitting with Paul, having just begun dating him. He knew that she was trying to become a teacher, and he had all sorts of questions for her. One time he had asked her why the school grading system skipped directly from 'D' to 'F'. She hadn't known the answer at the time, and so he'd gone and looked it up, later telling her why.

It suddenly struck her: the place that she loved, and yet everyone else hated. It was the school. The local elementary school where she taught, to be specific. She knew students would much rather be at home playing video games or whatever they did than be at school. The leader of the system must be the principal, because she didn't know anyone above him by sight alone.

Deciding she would go to the school, she turned on her Mini and pulled out of the garage.

* * *

Dawn pulled into the school parking lot, looking around the area. She turned into a space, turned off the car, and stepped out. As soon as her feet hit the pavement, the main door opened, and the principle made his way out.

To Dawn, it looked like he was trying very hard to appear serious, when in reality all he wanted to do was break into a grin. It unnerved her a little, and she wasn't sure whether or not she should be worried about Paul. After a short internal debate, she decided that she would, in fact, continue to worry.

"Ah, Dawn! You're finally here. Please, follow me to the gym."

"_The gym,_" Thought Dawn. "_Of course. The gym has the basketball court in it!"_

"Sure, Samuel. If you don't mind me asking though, do you know why I'm here?" Dawn replied hesitantly.

"I do indeed. Now, if you would," Samuel Oak said, motioning for her to follow him to the gym.

Dawn nodded slowly, knowing that more information would not be given. She followed Oak through the campus, looking around slowly as they walked.

She had only been working at this school for a few months, her and Paul having just moved out of their apartment at university. She liked it here, and hoped that they didn't need to move again any time soon.

After a few minutes, the two of them arrived at the gym building. Oak opened one of the doors for her and stood to the side, holding his arm out and waving her in. Instead of following her however, he closed the door behind her, isolating her in the dark building.

She glanced over her shoulder for a second, confused, before realizing that she wouldn't be alone in the gym without good reason. Accepting this, she began to make her way forward, stepping carefully in the murkiness of the space.

When she reached the middle, she saw another egg, green this time, sitting on the floor. She crouched, picked it up, then straightened and opened it. Contained inside the egg was another piece of paper with another message.

"_Glad you made it. I suppose it's alright if you see him again now._"

She whipped around when she heard a voice begin speaking behind her, and let out a breath she had been unconsciously holding. It was Paul, safe and sound.

"Dawn, when I met you, I was completely blown away. Here was a girl who was smart, knew what she wanted, knew how to get what she wanted, and was absolutely _stunning_. I didn't know what to do with myself for weeks, because I just could not stop thinking about you. After a little while, I finally worked up the courage to speak to you. I played it off as nothing, of course, but I was _so _unbelievably happy when you actually kept up a conversation with me. Months later, when I finally asked you out, I couldn't believe my luck when you said yes. I was on cloud nine, the happiest man in the world," he said, speaking each word smoothly, just like it was any other conversation.

Dawn was holding her breath again. She knew it this time, but couldn't bring herself to let it out. She didn't know exactly what was happening; only that Paul was looking right into her eyes, serious as ever. He was also talking, of course, and she was soaking up every word like each was a life giving elixir. She had rarely ever heard him be this open about his emotions, and it was odd, but strangely fulfilling to experience, knowing that he trusted her enough to do so.

"As time went on, the only thing that I did was fall more and more in love with you. I can't imagine my life without you. It wouldn't even be a quarter as fun, entertaining, enjoyable, or worth living."

She didn't know what to say. She knew that Paul loved her, yes, but being Paul, he had never really spent much time telling her so. Suddenly he moved a step closer to her and got down on one knee. Her heart ceased its movement in her chest. She would have been worried at her lack of a pulse, but her brain seemed to have also lost the capacity for rational thought. Paul spoke once more, opening the box and revealing the dazzling gleam of its contents.

"Because of all this, I have one question for you, Dawn Berlitz. Will you marry me?"

* * *

**Happy birthday, Jess. Hope this made your day a little better. It was the least I could do. But really, writing something that ends well is hard. I don't have the best track record for that.**


End file.
